The Black Girls Equity Alliance
After the first annual Equity Summit, practitioners, researchers, stakeholders, and concerned community members were inspired to take actionable steps to begin to address the structural inequities and subsequent disparities experienced by Black girls in our community.
How it started
After the first annual Equity Summit, practitioners, researchers, stakeholders, and concerned community members were inspired to take actionable steps to begin to address the structural inequities and subsequent disparities experienced by Black girls in our community.
The Alliance’s work is separated into four Action Teams with many members playing a pivotal role in multiple groups. Each team identifies goals and meets monthly to share updates and track progress.
Join Our Action Teams
Eliminating School Dress Codes
Despite no evidence linking dress codes to academic performance, Alleghany county schools disproportionately target Black girls with clothing rules. Lack of a unified PPS dress code exacerbates the issue. Join us to combat adultification bias and push for a district-wide directive.
Mandated Reporter Implicit Bias Training
Racial disproportionality persists in Allegheny County’s child welfare system, with too many Black families entering due to poverty-related issues, not neglect. Join this Action Team to equip social workers, educators, healthcare professionals, and law enforcement with tools to recognize and address implicit biases in assessing abuse or neglect.
Juvenile Justice
This Action Team aims to reform Allegheny County’s juvenile legal system through data analysis, community organizing, and policy advocacy. Key focuses include youth fees, citations, diversion, and incarceration. They also support statewide legislative reform efforts.
Comprehensive Sex Education
A community effort co-led by Planned Parenthood and Pittsburgh Action Against Rape. The group’s primary goal is to disseminate a comprehensive sex education curriculum in Pittsburgh Public Schools that is trauma-informed and culturally responsive.
For Members
The She Matters webinar series consists of monthly learning opportunities for systems leaders, social workers, advocates, educators, parents and community members.
These webinars are focused on the needs and experiences of Black girls and gender-expansive youth. The topics have ranged between commercial sexual exploitation, mental health supports, adultification bias and education reform. Participants from across the country join these free dialogues to raise their knowledge and awareness.